Napier displaying grads’ names across Edinburgh to make up for cancelled graduations

Edinburgh Napier have staged a ‘city takeover’ by displaying the names of 4000 graduates on billboards, bus stops, trams, and taxis all over Edinburgh.

‘Napier Names’ is designed to celebrate the achievements of the class of 2020/21 – and to make up for their decision to cancel in-person graduation ceremonies due to the pandemic.

Grads can find the specific location of their name using an online app and they have tried to put names as close to the student’s campus as possible.

One recent Napier grad told The Edinburgh Tab: “although I much rather would have preferred to have a proper ceremony it was a nice feeling to be recognised in some way”.

Image credits: @muckle_media

ENU had previously been forced to cancel their usual in-person graduations held in Usher Hall.

Students had also been offered the chance to have gowned photographs taken on the Craighlockhart Campus between Tuesday 3rd and Saturday 7th August.

The section of the Napier website apologised for the cancellation of graduation but promised an unspecified “surprise”.

They told students: “While there will be no ceremony, we want to shout about our students’ success. We want to make graduation memorable despite the challenging circumstances we all continue to face.

“So, while we cannot get you up onto the Usher Hall stage, we will be celebrating in style this July and we will share the full details nearer the time. We don’t want to say too much at this point and ruin the surprise, but suffice to say, our students’ name will most definitely be out there.”

Image credits: @edinburghnapier

The Edinburgh Tab spoke to Celine, a recent Napier Photography grad who managed to find her Napier Names billboard at a bus stop in Tollcross.

She said: “On the bus on my way home from Princes Street I spotted the Edinburgh Napier Graduate Posters spread out at the bus stops around town. I happened to see that some of them were titled after my course, so later that evening me and my boyfriend decided to head down to Tollcross where I saw them to see if we could spot my name.”

When asked about if she liked the idea of the billboards, she said: “Although I much rather would have preferred to have a proper ceremony it was a nice feeling to be recognised in some way. I really appreciate the time and money Napier has spent on putting these posters all around town.”

Related articles recommended by this writer

• Edinburgh University lectures expected to still be online next year

• Edinburgh uni is paying cost of hotel quarantine for students from red list countries

• BREAKING: Outdoor graduation celebrations will take place at the Castle this August